Flight
by smartybear2
Summary: Sometimes, she just has to get away from everything.Oneshot. KA. Set in the context of V3D, 3 years after the original Voltron saga ended.


Flight

by Smartybear2 (CBear, Claire)

Rating: K

Details: One shot, KA friendship

Disclaimer: _Voltron, Defender of the Universe_, _Voltron 3D_, and its characters are copyright © 1984 & copyright © 2000 by World Events Productions, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and storyline are property of the author, please do not use, reproduce, or repost without permission.

This fic was first published on the KAEX Yahoo groups several years ago, and I thought of uploading here to give it a wider audience. For everyone who has been waiting for the next part of A Princess and Her Knight -- please forgive me for being so delinquent. In the interim, I had a medical degree to earn and some serious training to do. :) I will upload other Voltron fics from the KAEX express when I have more time, including the ones I wrote under my other pseudonym Queen Merla soon. :)

* * *

It was going to be another sleepless night.

Allura threw off the covers with a resigned sigh. She had had enough battles with insomnia over the years to know when she was defeated, know that no amount of tossing or turning would ease her into the peacefulness of sleep. Over the years, she had learned how to deal with these occasional bouts of wakefulness in her own way. It looked like she was going to need to do that again tonight.

And, like always, she was almost looking forward to it.

The Princess stood purposefully from her bed and quickly began to dress into her utility jumpsuit. After a few minutes of struggling to tuck her golden curls into a functional bun, she strode out of her room, thesliding doors swishing silently closed behind her.

She smiled in greeting at the guards she met along the way patrolling the Castle corridors as she made her way to Castle Control. Gone were the days when she would have to lurk in the shadows just to keep Coran or Nanny from hearing that she had been elsewhere so late at night instead of in her chambers, where they thought she belonged. If there was anything the past three years had taught her guardian and her governess, it was that she was now her own woman and was old enough to do what she pleased. It was a relief to be free from their constant hovering, although she had to admit she often missed Nanny's sturdy presence in her life.

Not long after the boys had left Arus, Nanny had been called back to her hometown to care for her ailing widowed sister. Not one to shirk her duties, she complied after some cajoling from the Princess. Sadly, Nanny's sister passed away, and now Nanny had the task of raising the nephew and niece her sister left behind.

Coran, on the other hand, had enough time to grow into her increasing clamors for independence. Although the Princess and her guardian continued to clash often about what they each thought her role should be as the ruler of Arus, Coran's respect for the woman Allura had become had steadily grown. Now they treated each other as equals, more or less, but Allura knew she could never do without his wisdom and his counsel.

She was a woman much different from the girl she was only three years ago. The burden of rebuilding her ravaged kingdom and protecting it from further harm had been heavy, but she had borne it - and she had survived. She was no longer the naïve young princess who was just learning how to wield a power she couldn't understand. She had finally grown into her crown.

Allura entered the darkened confines of Castle Control knowing without seeing that her chief adviser was probably sitting at the helm, as always. Coran always said that he found his peace in watching the huge monitors and seeing nothing but the serenity of the Arussian night and knowing with certainty that he would not need to sound the alarm.

After the boys had left, he had taken over the graveyard shift, once Keith's favorite watch.

"Good evening, Princess," Coran greeted, not at all surprised by Allura's late-night appearance in Castle Control. "Cannot sleep tonight?"

She shook her head with a rueful smile. "Unfortunately, no," she admitted. "I should be exhausted, but I can't get myself to drop off. Maybe it's Blue Lion's way of making me know she misses me."

"Perhaps," Coran conceded. There was still much about the Lions that he and the Princess did not know, so he was not in the position to contradict her. One part of him even believed that she could be right. The Lions were no ordinary ships, they had been forged with a magic none of them fully understood and were only now beginning to discover. "Do you want to take her out tonight?"

Allura nodded, her face wreathed in a childlike grin. Coran raised the console to reveal the chutes leading to the Lions, and Allura eagerly jumped into the one leading to the Blue Lion.

Ever since the rest of the Force had been deployed to their different posts across the universe, she had flown Black Lion as Keith had trained her to do before he had been called back by Galaxy Garrison. Although she enjoyed controlling the powerful ship, Allura knew that she still felt most right flying the Blue.

On nights like this, it was the Blue she took out on exuberant flights. She often had no particular destination in mind, and she sometimes felt that it was more the Lion controlling the flight path than she was. They would fly into the silence of the night for a timeless eternity, and the soft purring of the engine, much like that of a contented pussycat, would soothe Allura and ensure a peaceful, undisturbed sleep for her when she got back to the Castle.

Tonight, as on other nights, Allura let the Blue Lion take her where it would, over the rolling green glens of her kingdom, over woods now abundant with life, over towns rebuilt and teeming with happy people, who no longer knew of fear, hunger, nor death. The contentment blanketing her entire planet seemed to communicate itself through the Lion's controls, soothing her soul and giving her renewed strength. She drew encouragement from the ship's quiet purring, the certainty that she was doing the right thing. She was not letting her people down…

A sudden blip on her radar broke into the Princess' introspection and brought her crashing back to the present. What other ship could be out there? Pollux had not sent word about any envoys on their way, and ever since the tenuous peace that had been forged in the Diamond Galaxy, rulers of the other planets were too busy rebuilding their kingdoms to send visitors. With frantic fingers she zoomed in on the other ship.

"Princess? What are you doing up here?"

The familiar voice reached Allura before a blown up image of the Black Lion appeared on her screen. The image of the Lion flickered to black, and Keith's puzzled face replaced it.

"I could ask the same of you," she said crisply. She gave him an awkward but sincere smile. Their being back on Arus still took some getting used to after three years. "You startled me. Coran didn't tell me you were out here, too."

"I just radioed him at Castle Control a few minutes ago, but he didn't say you had flown out." He grinned at her. "So, what are you doing up here?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take the Blue for a spin. It's become sort of a tranquilizer for me," she admitted. "And you?"

He cleared his throat self-consciously. "Well… Black and I were just getting reacquainted," he reluctantly admitted. "I've really missed flying the big guy these past three years."

_Of course… it figures that was what he would miss._ "I know what you mean. I'm sure he's missed you, too."

"Well… um… It's good to be back." He cleared his throat awkwardly, and Allura smiled inwardly as she realized that he had run out of things to say. It had only been a week since he and the others had come back, and all of them were still feeling one another out. They had been a great team three years ago, but each of them had gone their own ways since then and getting together once more took some getting used to.

"Were you flying anywhere in particular?" she asked, helping him out.

Keith shook his head. "Not really. If you want to go anywhere in particular, I wouldn't mind following." Allura saw him grin sheepishly. "Uh… that is, if you don't mind company."

Allura's smile grew. She shook her head. "No, I don't mind the company at all."

"All right, then," he smiled back. "Lead the way, your Highness."

"If only you'd say that more often when we're in combat," she sighed, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Keith laughed at the droll tone of her voice, and the Princess let the familiar sound wash over her. It had been a good three years for her and the rest of her planet, but this laughter was something she had missed.

Allura gave Blue Lion free reign. She didn't know if Keith realized that the Lions often had minds of their own when one didn't take firm control of them, but she wasn't about to tell him. It would spoil the fun for him if he didn't find that out on his own. Besides, even if she had figured this out a year ago, part of her still wondered if maybe she was just being fanciful when she thought this way.

At that moment, Blue Lion flew over a high plateau overlooking the green valleys near the Castle of Lions. On impulse, Allura steered her Lion down onto it - and Black Lion followed suit behind her. When both ships had finally landed, Allura took off her helmet and pushed her head out of the portal on Blue Lion's head, taking in a deep breath of the cleansing night air. After a few moments, she stepped on the lift and allowed herself to be lowered to the ground. Keith was already there, waiting for her.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Allura said, stepping off the lift and standing beside him. Even the Lions' odd glow couldn't offset the gleam of thousands of stars that seemed to surround them. "We would never have been able to do this three years ago."

Keith looked up at the peaceful night sky with a smile. "True," he said quietly. "Arus has come a long way since we left, Princess. You've done an admirable job here."

Even after all these years that bit of praise from him made her flush with pleasure. He had never been one to give compliments lightly. She grinned modestly. "I could never have done it if you hadn't paved the way by being here to help us in the beginning," she said. She stroked the smooth, cool metal of Blue Lion's claw thoughtfully. "You and the others - you gave us hope when we had nothing. And that turned out to be everything."

"You only thought that you had nothing," Keith corrected with a grin. "Your father left you with quite a treasure in these Lions and in Voltron."

Allura pushed herself up on the Blue Lion's claw nimbly and smirked down at him from her perch. "Yes, he did - but with no pilots to fly them. You were the ones who woke him up," she said, her tone matter-of-fact.

"Maybe that's true but much of what you've rebuilt here, you did after we had gone, and…" He stopped in mid-sentence and startled Allura with a small chuckle.

Allura frowned down at him, her expression puzzled. "What? What's so funny?"

"We are," he said, following her example and pushing himself up on the Lion's claw and settling beside her. "Three years after, and neither of us can still take a compliment without making it into a who-did-more kind of tennis match."

Allura looked affronted. "We don't…" she began, but at the familiar sardonic quirk of his eyebrow, she broke out into a giggle. "Okay, maybe we do." Her expression turned to one of challenge. "So what are we going to do about it?"

He grinned back at her. "You've grown into your role as a wise monarch - what do you think we should do?"

"Please don't start on the 'wise princess' bit," she warned with a wry grimace, leaning back on Blue Lion's leg. "When I go on these flights, I like to think I shed off that heavy crown for the few minutes… and I'm free to be just… Allura." She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. "So I guess that leaves you to do the thinking, my sagacious Commander Keith."

Allura's words fell into silence, and curiosity forced her to open her eyes. She found him staring at her with an odd mix of surprise and… something she didn't quite understand on his face.

"What is it now?" she asked with a frown. "Is there something on my face?" She brought up a hand to wipe away the smudge. "Where is it?"

The sight of her hand's frantic motions seemed to break into Keith's trance, and he impulsively took her hand away from her face as he shook his head. "I'm sorry… there's no smudge at all, Princess." He grinned sheepishly, dropping his hand from her wrist. "I was just… I don't know." He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture from the past that she always correctly interpreted to be a sign of agitation. "It's nothing, really."

She scowled at him, planting both hands on her hips in her best Nanny impression. "Keith," she began, her eyes narrowing. "Don't think that's going to work on me tonight, because it won't. I'm not above beating you to a pulp to get you to tell me what you're thinking right now… and believe me, I CAN."

He laughed loudly, the sound echoing around them. "Do you know you look just like Nanny when you do that?" he commented with a grin. "I know it's hard to believe this, but I kind of miss having her around, too. Where did you say she went?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't change the subject," she said huffily. "Don't think I'm not up to your old tricks, Commander… it's been three years, but as you said, some things never seem to change." He sobered and looked at her, his expression suddenly thoughtful. "You're right," he conceded, earning a startled look from her. "I never could keep anything from you then - and I guess that's the way things are going to be now that I'm back." He laughed, and she could hear the note of self-reproach in it.

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not," she joked cautiously, forcing a smile even as she nervously waited for his answer.

"Neither do I," he joked back lightly, but even if he laughed as he said it, Allura could see that he meant it. He was confused, and knowing Keith the way she did, she knew that he didn't like it. She couldn't blame him - because she felt the same way. But it was not something she wanted to take on tonight, not while they were still trying to regain the easy companionship they had had three years ago, so she let the comment slide.

"So why WERE you staring?" she asked instead, her expression hinting at her tenacity.

He sighed in resignation. "Would you believe me if I said it was because you were beautiful?" he joked again.

Even as she smirked her skepticism at him, she couldn't help the slight blush that stained her cheeks at his light words. "Apparently, trees aren't the only things you've been growing the past three years," she said crisply. "You've been growing quite a glib tongue, too." She peered at him closely. "And… dare I hope? A sense of humor."

"Awwww, I'm hurt," he pouted, ducking his head and staring at her through those ridiculously thick dark lashes of his. "I thought you liked my sense of humor well enough three years ago."

She hardened her heart. "Don't start… and you're changing the topic again. Why WERE you staring?"

"Okay, okay… you win," he grumbled. He scowled at her. "I can't believe I almost forgot how stubborn you could be."

"Not stubborn - determined." She grinned triumphantly at him and waited as the pause lengthened. After few moments, he answered. "It was what you had said… about feeling free when you fly on nights like this," he admitted reluctantly. He smiled. "It just struck me… how I never quite knew that about you, and yet I always felt the same way."

She looked at him in happy surprise. "I didn't know you felt that way, too," she said thoughtfully, turning her gaze to the stars. "I guess there's just something about flying… on my part, it's the feeling of being in control of exactly where I'm going, of being alone up there with my Lion and pretending for a while that nothing exists but me and my ship, of doing something just for me." She paused and regarded him with a small grin. "What is it for you?"

"Just the opposite," Keith admitted candidly. "I enjoy not having to be in control of what I'm doing or where I'm going, not having to plan the next move to precision and just be allowed to drift wherever my Lion wants to take me. No rules to follow." He looked at her and hesitantly continued, "It's weird, but I don't really plan flights like these… I… it's weird, but all those years ago, after I had flown my usual perimeter check, I just let the Black Lion take me where it will and it did.. Or maybe that was just my imagination."

"Maybe." Allura smiled at his comment and closed her eyes again.

They sat together in comfortable silence for several minutes, content to be in each other's company without words. A cool wind blew from below them, but they were sheltered from the worst of it by the Lion's comforting bulk.

"Princess?"

"Hmmm?"

"I wish we… I… had been here to help you rebuild. To help you carry the load."

"It would have meant a lot to have you here," she admitted. Her eyes flicked open, and she found him regarding her solemnly. "But the three years were good to me. It was a heavy burden, I admit that, but instead of breaking it's made me stronger. And it was lighter because you had been here to lay the foundations. I only need to take up where all of us had left off."

"I know," he said with a small smile. "But I want you to know that if I had had a choice, I would have chosen to stay. To finish the work that we started."

"You were called where you were needed, Keith. I understand that." She was touched by his words. "Besides, she work is never finished. There is always something to be done." She met his eyes and placed her hand over his and squeezed impulsively. "I'm just glad that you are all here for what's ahead. It means a lot to me to have you back."

"As I've said, Princess - I'm very glad to be here," he said gruffly. He cleared his throat, and looked at his watch. "It's getting pretty late - Coran might be worried about us. Maybe it's time we headed back."

"You're right," she conceded, letting go of his hand. He jumped down from the Lion's claw in one lithe move, and she followed suit. She stood in front of him, a thought suddenly striking her. "You know we never did decide what we would do about passing compliments," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her. "Maybe we shouldn't," he said with a wink. "You have to admit it's kind of fun. It grows on you - sort of like Lance. Besides, I know I'll out-compliment you any day."

"Is that a challenge, Commander?" she quipped, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll have you know that for every compliment you give me, I'll be able to do you one better."

"We'll see," he said with a grin. "I'll follow you back to the Castle, Princess." He turned and took a few steps towards his Lion before he paused in his tracks. He looked back at her and frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know if I'd already said it, Princess, but I just wanted you to know…" He grinned shyly. "I missed you."

Allura was too stunned at the open comment to reply to him as he walked away. In a slight daze, she stepped onto the lift and allowed herself to be taken up into her cockpit. She was quiet as she placed her key in the slot and automatically started her lift off sequence.

"Ready?" His voice washed over her from the telecomm. "Let's go home, Princess."

Home. Allura grinned and pressed her communicate button. "I'll race you."

"What?" he laughingly asked.

"Too late! It's GO!" she exclaimed, gunning her megathrusters.

"Hey, you cheated!" he said indignantly. "I'll show you. Let's go get them, Black!"

With that the two Lions streaked towards the Castle of the Lions in the dark Arussian night. But even as Keith and Allura docked the Lions for the night, neither of them was sure if that odd sound they had heard over their megathrusters as they raced was the contented sound of two Lions purring at a job well done.

* * *

[end 


End file.
